


Dark Dynamics

by TheSilentChloey



Series: Fire Emblem Alternate Universes [31]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Morgan is Robins secret child, OOC, Past Codelia x Robin M, Shepherds are ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:15:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22829320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilentChloey/pseuds/TheSilentChloey
Summary: Robin was comfortable, at least being single was acceptable for him, yet the Shepherds had their own ideas and kept trying to force him to marry Cordelia, the one woman he can't stand.  Only for it to getworsewith the arrival of a young woman with white hair claiming to be his future daughter.Yet for all the pressure being heaped on him, there is only one solace, Chrom's daughter Lucina who had Robin's heart well before he met Cordelia.Caught between a rock and a hard place, Robin has to chose between Cordelia and Lucina- a choice he can't take lightly, lest the Shepherds' ire falls on his shoulders.
Relationships: Chrom/Maribelle (Fire Emblem), Gregor/Tiamo | Cordelia, Lucina & Serena | Severa, Lucina/My Unit | Reflet | Robin, Marc | Morgan & My Unit | Reflet | Robin, My Unit | Reflet | Robin & Riviera | Libra, My Unit | Reflet | Robin/Tiamo | Cordelia, Serena | Severa & My Unit | Reflet| Robin
Series: Fire Emblem Alternate Universes [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/997092
Comments: 8
Kudos: 42





	1. Only Up From Here...Right?

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is not a pairing dis fic, so let's just get that out of the way. I'm doing a what if scenario, i.e What if instead of the future children being from your in game pairings that they are sort of the default pairings and working on relationship dynamics gets messy.
> 
> Rated M for now but may see a rating rise if Robin doesn't stop swearing.

Robin sighed as he was balancing several tomes as he made his way to the strategy tent, hoping to avoid the rest of the Shepherds entirely. Mostly because they were all creating a ruckus in the mess tent and frankly he felt more comfortable _alone_ than dealing with the noise. He was not in a good mood; let alone in the right mindset to join them after the latest disgusting display of trying to force him to "listen to reason" as if he couldn't think for himself and had to be told what to do by people who, on the face of it had no idea what they were talking about when it came to who Robin had romantic feelings for.

He let out a low grunt as he set the tomes down and a sigh of relief as his arms relaxed from carrying the tomes, and he was blissfully alone- for now at least. He could probably get an hour or two if he was lucky before there was another sorry attempt to get him to talk to his supposed "daughter", and one of the female Shepherds Robin had been actively avoiding. The damn girl approached him and called him 'Father' as if he was her supposed father, stupid enough to marry Cordelia who he clearly hated so much he couldn't stand being around her at all. To top it off the stupid bitch had accepted that disgraceful brat as her child, to add insult to injury, though it seemed that Robin had a mutual hatred of Cordelia with Severa. It was the _only_ thing that they had in common, but Robin refused to spend his time with Severa as well, since he _wasn't_ her fucking father and she wasn't his responsibility. Also since when if he ever had a child would he let them get like _her_?!

Did _anyone_ not see the issue with that?!

He couldn't _stand_ Cordelia and now here was a supposed future "child" of theirs? The disgust wasn't going to go away and he most certainly wasn't going to have any romantic feelings towards a woman who was so damn shallow as to only care about Chrom and no one else. Pigs could fly before Robin would sink to marrying such a worthless woman, especially one who only looked on the superficial levels of a person.

As if the overt efforts to force Robin to settle down weren't bad enough, it was the fact that they were forcing him to settle for _Cordelia_ of all people, worse still the fact that his free will was essentially stripped from him made him resent Severa and the fact she existed at all. He'd rather she didn't exist, then he could be free to go on his own path instead of the pushing to marry a woman that at the face of it he couldn't stand. Especially one as fake and superficial as _Cordelia_. No she could be someone else's problem and not his, to that end he'd already drawn up the Roster and made sure that it wouldn't be revised for the rest of the month. Plenty of time to let him observe if his chosen battle partner for Cordelia could cope with her better than Robin could.

All Cordelia cared about was Chrom, and there was no way Robin wanted to be any part of it, he wasn't some stand in Chrom for the love of Naga!

He sighed and picked the tomes back up. He was too riled up now to even do his job properly and while he was sickened by how much the Shepherds were pushing this stupid match onto him, he couldn't afford to let anyone die, no matter his personal feelings on the issue.

Angrily he made his way back to his tent. Only once he was in the confines of the tent, with the entrance closed did he set the tomes down again. "Fucking bitch!" Robin hissed angrily, trying to corral his fury as he paced the length of the tent. He sat heavily down on his cot and held his head in his hands for what felt like an eternity desperately trying to stop his anger from escalating and making his head throb painfully. As always happened whenever he was angry.

He was _not_ someone who could be forced to do what they wanted. He knew that he had to make a very serious choice. He sighed as his anger eventually slowed to a simmer, burning quietly in the background. It was getting harder to control himself, and a part of him was terrified as to what would happen when he finally, truly and irrevocably snapped. He was by no means ready to forgive anyone, but he'd make his own path forwards and try to find tranquility as best he could. Just because some foolish teenager thought he was her father, didn't _make_ him her father.

He was about to rise when he heard the sound of a commotion. A low groan escaped him. Just when things couldn't get _worse_ they just had to get worse.

" **Robin**!" Chrom's cry sounded and the tactician pinched the bridge of his nose, rising from his cot. This day just kept getting better and better...he wished that he could pull the clock back and be more decisive about putting his foot down in his refusal to pair up with Cordelia.

"For fucks sake…" Robin groaned, grabbing his tome as he opened the tent, only to see a scene of pure chaos. Robin felt his fury bubble again and his head was close to hurting more severely than before.

Of fucking _course_ Chrom would pull that kind of idiocy. Robin didn't want to know what happened, as he saw for himself with a quick glance.

Yet again Vaike was getting himself into a pickle because he'd left his axe lying around and who should have tripped over it but Severa. Honestly Robin didn't know how that happened and he didn't care to know. He turned on his heel and was about to go back into his tent when a certain blond haired Princess raced past. Robin shook his head and stepped back into his tent, now with a headache to deal with, that likely wasn't going to go away now he was angry again. Whatever happened to Severa wasn't his problem, especially since it wasn't _his_ child.

~*~

He barely sat down at his desk, beginning to try to calm his anger once more, but knowing he couldn't really as his headache was causing him to want to burn something to allow the scent to soothe him. Flames burbled in his open hand as he stared into them. Flames were calming, and burning things...made him feel better, especially his enemies, either through the overwhelming power of thunder magic or the more straightforward fire magic, he didn't care, as long as someone burned and screamed…

Robin froze mid thought, was that normal for a decent person? He hadn't spoken about it to anyone, since he hadn't felt it necessary to do so.

He clamped his hand closed and the fire died, "Robin…" he looked up and saw Lucina and guilt ate at him.

Why did his heart _want_ her? He had been close to mustering up the courage to tell her how he felt when Severa arrived and ruined it all by saying Robin was _her_ father, even though Robin would never have _allowed_ any child of his to act as Severa did, let alone treat anyone like she did.

He noticed that Lucina seemed to be having an internal debate with herself and for not the first time sighed. So much unsaid and yet...the one woman he genuinely wanted to make happy, he couldn't. It was painful for him to have to deal with it.

He however pressed his anger down and said calmly, "Did you require anything Lucina?" As he resigned himself to being unable to do anything he wanted about his feelings. She spoke,

"I...wanted to talk about...the future...at least the one where I came from."

Robin sighed, his hands folding in front of him, "What about it?" He asked and Lucina shifted slightly. Something clicked and Robin took as best a guess as he could, "I assume Chrom in your time didn't marry Maribelle, right?"

She flinched and he expected her to deny it but, oddly enough she nodded, "It's true my Father didn't marry Maribelle, I…"

Robin tilted his head, "You're not sure how to tell him about who he actually married- my guess is Sumia, since she's also managed to get Galeforce at this stage."

Lucina's jaw dropped, "H-how…"

Robin chuckled softly, "An educated guess." He grinned, trying to make light of the situation. The grin fell when he realised Lucina wasn't getting the joke he tried to pull, though Chrom had often said he'd an odd sense of humour. "I can see why it's awkward at least. I can't stand those two when they get particularly lovey dovey either." Robin pulled a face, "Blegh! Just thinking about it is enough to make my stomach turn. It's like one of Sumia's worst romance novels."

Lucina actually smiled, which made Robin's mood lift considerably. Even a tiny smile was worth treasuring, even if he wasn't allowed to share his feelings with her. "It is true that there are some...not so good books in Mother's collection…" there was even a small giggle which made Robin's headache fade away. It was then in that moment a simple, clear thought hit him.

He just had to go and fall for the one woman he shouldn't have, even if she made him feel...content, she was a calming influence and he felt like he could relax around her and be himself.

~*~

Sunrise saw Robin standing quietly in the strategy tent hoping vainly he'd be able to escape too much attention, the previous night being very interesting as Lucina had asked Robin what _he_ wanted, and he didn't know why but he let it slip he didn't like Cordelia, especially since she was so superficial. He admitted perhaps against his better judgement that his heart was someone else's, thankfully not mentioning that Lucina had his heart the moment that they had met, when she had warned them as Marth of the dangers to come which had made him feel confused, until her mask came off against the assassins and he'd realised then his senses were sharper than most of the other Shepherds.

It was like he'd been run through with Cupid's damn sword and not a damned arrow.

Had he not seen Lucina in the beginning...well he still wouldn't have chosen Cordelia willingly.

The irony was that Lucina even admitted that was what happened in her time.

_"At the time I didn't think much of it, but your other self always seemed unhappy with Cordelia, at least every time I'd ever seen him in my time, until he disappeared."_

_"So even he wasn't spared the bullshit of those idiots meddling in his life and forcing decisions on him for 'his own good'. How fucking pleasant…" Robin shot out then he sighed, "Sorry, it's pretty terrible of me to talk like that…" he sighed, running a hand through his short wavy hair,_

_"It's nothing I haven't heard before." Lucina said calmly, and Robin felt guilty that she had to grow up in a world where swearing was common,_

_"I'd appreciate it if you don't tell Chrom I said that word, please."_

_Lucina nodded, "Very well, I won't say a word." She promised, "I guess we're both keeping something from my father now."_

_Robin laughed, "Well between Sumia being your actual mother and my swearing, yeah, it's not that fun. Seriously if Chrom ever knew those two facts, I think it's safe to say I'd be in a world of trouble, just because I look like a damn kid doesn't mean I should be treated like a damn kid. Do they really think I am that stupid? If I was how the hell would they have a tactician who's kept them all alive all this time? Maybe I_ should _leave the Shepherds once this stupid shitty war is done and take Flavia up on her offer- at least she doesn't care for how young I look." Robin sighed then, and heard the faintest klink of armour, as if someone was heading to the mess tent, but his best guess was that it was Kellam and even then no one listened to him so it didn't matter,_

_"Would you truly be happy with that?" Lucina asked, leading Robin to lean back in his chair,_

_"Well...maybe, who knows maybe by then...I can…" He blushed, "Admit to the one I actually love that…" he felt his face get even more red, "Ah forget it!" Robin said embarrassed, "I don't think I could. Given that everyone seems to think I'll marry Cordelia because of Severa...and Cordelia said Ricken was too childish for her, so what the fuck does that make me then?!" Robin snapped as just the thought alone was enough to make his headache come back,_

_"You think you're the same age as Ricken?" Lucina asked,_

_"He's taller than I am." Robin pointed out calmly, "So if Ricken is too young for her, I should be as well. It is true I don't remember much, but if what Validar said was true...well I'd hazard a guess and say I'd have been twelve or thirteen when Chrom found me." Robin shrugged and Lucina froze slightly,_

_"That...would make you barely sixteen at most!!" She gasped out,_

_"Yeah, if I am right, it sure would. About the same age as Ricken." Robin laughed without humour, "So if they want to treat me like a kid, they might as well do it properly for fucks sake."_

_Lucina sat on his cot heavily from shock, "My gods…"_

_Robin blinked, "You okay Lucina?" He asked worried,_

_"I didn't realise...well...no, I did know that you'd lost your memories but-"_

_"But…?"_

_Lucina heaved a sigh, "Your other self always seemed to hold some form of resentment, I could never figure out why but I think I might know."_

_"I'll take a stab in the dark and say whatever your Robin went through, he ended up hating the Shepherds for his own reasons, harsh but probably likely." Lucina nodded sadly as Robin continued, "He couldn't hold onto his duty again for whatever reason, I don't know and can't speak for him, and my guess is it was the straw that broke the camel's back."_

_Lucina hummed, "I wonder why…?" She murmured,_

_"Things are not so black and white, maybe he had his own dreams crushed, or the other Cordelia finally realised what she married, especially if he's anything like me." Robin joked continuing his train of thought "Probably the biggest damn prick to exist."_

_"You are no such-!" Lucina cried out in shock only to see Robin laughing,_

_"It was in jest." Robin chuckled, "Nowhere near as good as my line about starting wars to cheer myself up, but Chrom hates that one."_

_Lucina sighed, "Of course…"_

_Robin sighed, "Chrom always said I had a weird sense of humour."_

_Lucina smiled softly, "That is very familiar." She admitted and Robin grinned,_

_"Well at least he seems happy enough." He had not realised how close he was to her, but he found himself blushing and pulling back, "In any case…" he struggled to hide his blush lest Lucina notice it, "I probably should call it a night…"_

_Lucina was gracious enough to not mention it and she got up, "I hope you have a restful night Robin."_

_"Same to you." He said unthinkingly, and Lucina smiled again._

_"You have my gratitude, Robin."_

_"Anytime." He replied and once she was gone and he was sure she was out of earshot, a low sigh escaped him._

_He quietly slipped out of his coat and kicked his boots off before drawing in a deep breath of air. He knew he had sharper senses than he cared to admit but this wasn't the time. He would have to wait a while longer it seemed, and as he crawled into his bed, the faint scent of Lucina actually helped him settle enough to sleep..._

Robin rocked back in his seat trying to work out what to do. He'd already decided he was going to pair up with Lucina- Chrom be damned Robin didn't want to go anywhere near Cordelia as it would be hypocritical of him to do so because "it was supposed to happen that way".

No, Robin decided he wouldn't go that route as in his heart of hearts he could never like Cordelia even without Lucina having confirmed his suspicions.

He most definitely called Sumia being Lucina's actual mother; a secret he'd keep from Chrom to be sure for Lucina's sake. Though he wasn't actually sure what would happen if Chrom himself found out and the mess it would cause once the rest of the Shepherds found out.

Far better he didn't say anything.

He was almost done with the plan on stopping the Fire Emblem falling into Validar's hands. Who'd have thought a fake version of both the gemstones and the actual Fire Emblem was what Robin would come up with. Though only one other person knew about that and…

Robin rose; carrying an arm full of books out of the strategy tent when a figure bumped into him sending his books flying, as well as them, " _Ouch_!"

He blinked, "Are you okay?" He asked spotting a girl with a coat similar to his own, she looked up and blushed,

"Oh, no!" She cried, "I'm so sorry! I just...well...I should have-"

Robin sighed, "Hey, it's only a minor spill, so no foul." Robin said, "You don't seem worse for wear either, so I'd say we're both fine."

She sighed, "I...was trying to avoid too much attention since everyone was practically staring at me and…"

Robin hummed, "Yeah, the Shepherds get like that with newcomers, I take it you're the trainee tactician Chrom found last night?"

The girl nodded, "Yeah, it was kind of him to help me escape those risen…" she shivered, "I can't say the same for my master though…"

Robin winced, "Well, I know he or she would be relieved you found safety." Robin said calmly, "And I don't know what Chrom may or may not have said, but if you are so inclined I can help you with your training, obviously that-"

The girl sniffled, "I'd like that. I promise I'll do my best!" She said and Robin smiled softly,

"Well then, I am Robin, the Shepherds' tactician at your service." He bowed slightly and the girl hastened to wipe away her tears,

"I'm Morgan." She said looking like someone had given her the greatest Naga's Day present in her whole life. Robin and Morgan gathered the books Robin had dropped and headed to the mess tent together.

Robin wasn't normally one for snap decisions but this time...well it was worth it he could tell.

~*~

The mess hall was even more noisy than usual and Robin noticed that Lucina was sitting alone. He came with Morgan who had been following him quietly for the moment, "Hey Lucina, have you had the chance to meet Morgan?" Robin asked and Lucina looked up and Morgan shyly waved,

"Hi, I'm Morgan, it's nice to meet you." The young girl said and Lucina smiled softly,

"Hello Morgan, I'm Lucina."

"Right I'll be back with some lunch for us." Robin said calmly, "Morgan, don't worry, Lucina here doesn't bite like Severa. Also don't bother with Miss Attitude, she may think she's related to me but I highly doubt it myself."

Morgan nodded, "Sure." Morgan said as Robin left the pair.

He just made it to the table where the food was being served when Chrom came over, "Yes?" Robin said with a raised eyebrow,

"I'm...surprised." Chrom said after a moment, "Why'd you take on Morgan-?"

"The kid's training to be a tactician, Chrom. I'm the only one who _can_ take her on. If you're really serious about her staying with the Shepherds, she's better off learning from another tactician." Robin said pointedly, "Unlike the spoiled brat who thinks she's my daughter, Morgan seemed to be grateful for the offer."

Chrom fell silent, "Right…" he said after a moment of cold silence as Robin picked up three plates and left the table.

He'd not realised just how many people heard that, but as he set down the food, he could see Morgan looked especially hungry, something Robin knew well. If her voraciously devouring the food was any indication.

"Thish stub id amashing!" Morgan cried happily. Robin could see Maribelle's appalled expression and he grinned,

"Yeah, bear is nice." He grinned, "I certainly don't mind it." He said calmly, "But I am more partial to sand bear stew than plain old bear meat."

"For real?!" Morgan cried happily, "I like sand bear stew too! Especially my father's recipe! His is hands down the best!"

Robin grinned, "Is that so? Well I'd like to meet him one day." Robin smirked, and Lucina was giggling,

"I've not actually tried that before-" She began and Morgan looked mortified,

"No way! You have no idea what you're missing out on!" She cried and Robin grinned,

"I suppose I could make some for the two of you to try." He offered, "But I'm warning you it's very, _very_ spicy."

"Sounds awesome." Morgan looked pleased, "I'll never say no to a good sand bear stew!"

Robin laughed, "I hope it lives up to your expectations then." He grinned, enjoying himself for once.


	2. Shaking Chains...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin's choices start to alter the pathway he is on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Robin won't stop swearing...

It was one of the best lunches Robin had in awhile, discounting of course the glares at his back because he wasn't with Cordelia and talking with Morgan about various tactics that didn't bore Lucina as she seemed to be interested as the pair talked about penguins as soldiers and the practicality of having such soldiers. They were having a fairly deep, if nonsensical conversation that Robin thoroughly enjoyed. It was almost as if the pair were speaking their own language, and Lucina actually brought up an interesting idea about the fact that penguins were likely to overheat in the Plegian desert, an idea that had Robin chuckle as he asked Morgan how she'd work around it. Morgan had a very interesting 'thinking' face and Robin wondered if it had something to do with whoever Morgan's father was.

Robin and Morgan were both in the strategy tent planning out a simulation of how to deal with the upcoming mission to retrieve the "Fire Emblem" from Validar, Robin wondered how long it would take before the forgery was picked up, hopefully not before he nailed that annoying sorcerer first, as Robin was fairly sure that was something he needed to do a hundred percent. He would end this war and walk his own path.

He had to admit that Morgan had some really good ideas...though he wasn't sure they could pull together a pitfall and lure Validar to his death, tempting as the idea was to follow through it did fail on a practical level. It still was a good idea however, a very appealing idea though Robin knew on a practical scale it wasn't able to be done. He sighed, too bad it wasn't able to be used, it would be so much fun to hear the screaming from Validar as he fell in.

Not long into the pair of tacticians' brainstorming for ideas to deal with Validar, Chrom showed up with Cordelia and Severa. The latter looking like she was swallowing a lemon, Cordelia looking visibly upset and Chrom...well Robin could take Chrom on and beat him soundly if it came to that. He really wasn't looking forward to it, but it was getting to that point...

Robin frowned setting down his quill and Chrom spoke, "About the pair up roster-"

"No." Robin snapped in response cutting the Prince off before he could say a word and Chrom reeled back in shock, "It's non negotiable. Cordelia is going to pair up with Gregor and Severa can go with your nephew, end of discussion."

"But-"

" **I said no and I mean it**!" Robin growled, his head suddenly pounding with pain, he drew in a deep breath of air, struggling to calm himself, "The roster is not to be changed. That's it. I won't hear another complaint. _From anyone_ do I make myself clear?" He said sharply. Morgan spoke up,

"What about me?" She asked, "I do know my way around the battlefield, so maybe I could team up with Severa…?"

Robin sighed softly, "I'd rather you didn't have to deal with Miss Attitude over here, and Owain seems to be the only one who doesn't complain about her. And Gregor is far more skilled than I am, so keeping Cordelia with him will help the Shepherds more than ferrying me around when I have Zahra as a superior alternative."

"A wyvern?" Morgan asked in awe and Robin chuckled,

"Cherche thinks Zahra isn't as cute as Minerva but Zahra is a Plegian Wyvern, she's tough enough to handle the coming battle, even if she's not a combat mount, plus if I wanted an aerial view, she's far better than a pegasus that's liable to throw me off its back every five minutes." Robin said with a wink, "And aside from that, I was the one that found her a couple of years ago and I will admit that if it wasn't for Sumia's help well...I made sure to return the favour, naturally."

Morgan giggled, and Chrom sighed, "So, then who…?"

Robin hummed, "Well, I was thinking either Laurent or Gerome. They're responsible enough to stay focused on the task at hand and don't annoy me like some other people."

Morgan hummed, "A sage or a flier...sounds cool." Robin chuckled,

"I thought that'd work, plus you won't be too far from me so I can keep an eye on you. It'd be foolish of me not to after all." He sighed and rose, "Now then, we should probably look into some training since I need to get in some, and I don't know what magic you've learned."

"Robin." Chrom said and Robin turned to Chrom,

"It was an open invitation Chrom." He said crossing his arms over his chest, "Though from what I can tell Miss Attitude over here is about as magic as a wet rag, so it'll be pointless to try and teach her anything."

He knew it hurt, but he was sick of lying, sick of hiding and sick of letting himself being walked over. Seeing Severa storm off without saying a word was...annoying but it wasn't his business. The girl wasn't his child, Cordelia wasn't his wife so she could deal with the hot mess she'd created, the glare sent his way only reinforced his choice. Chrom let out a painful sigh as Robin left the tent and Morgan followed him. Once he was clear of them he spoke, "Sorry for that." He said to Morgan and the girl spoke up,

"I understand. You didn't really want to hurt her, but you didn't have a choice." Robin sighed,

"How astute of you. What gave it away?" He asked as they came to the storage tent and Morgan frowned slightly,

"I...hmm...when she stormed off."

Robin blinked and then he chuckled, "I guess so." He said after a moment, "The truth can be a very painful double edged blade, it can free and hurt you." He said and Morgan looked worried for a moment, until Robin continued, "That is a lesson you need to learn before things get dangerous." He then added, "Though lies are more easily spread than the truth, even about the most vile people of history."

He saw Morgan's eyes widen and then he handed her a fire tome, Morgan tilted her head, "I can use thunder magic too." She said and Robin pulled out a second fire tome,

"We'll be more accurate with the fire tomes, though that you know thunder magic is good." Robin explained, as he and Morgan headed out to the training grounds. It was clear that word had spread about Severa having run off crying. The glares from certain individuals as Robin made his way through the camp were not subtle and obvious. He chose to actively ignore them.

They came to the training grounds just as Lucina managed to break a training dummy. Robin sighed, "Well that's three to be replaced now. I see Chrom taught you well Lucina." Robin teased, she jumped and blushed,

"Oh! Robin!" She blinked then spotting Morgan smiled gently, "Are you teaching Morgan magic?"

Robin chuckled, "Well...testing her magical ability, actually. I've been meaning to ask, have you ever had to use a tome?"

Lucina frowned and looked thoughtful, "Hmm...I...don't actually know." She frowned and Robin noticed a similar to Morgan thinking face, it was rather cute dare he think so, "I know some healing magic, since Aunt Lissa taught me."

It was Robin's turn to look thoughtful, "Healing is good, it's the most useful magic if you can pull it off, and it can in theory be used to help build enough mana reserves for defensive magic, in turn building into offensive magic, but that takes far too long. You're better off picking up offensive magic from the get go, and then going into healing from there. It does mean you're pushing it a little, but the results do work. Depending on how much latent mana you've got."

Lucina tilted her head, "How can you tell if someone has latent mana?" She asked curiously,

"Simple. Try fighting without a physical weapon, you'll be surprised what tends to happen." Robin set the tome down and focused on one of the mage training dummies. The resulting bolt hit the dummy head on and Lucina and Morgan both gasped in surprise,

"Whoa…" Morgan's jaw dropped and Lucina managed to shake the surprise off,

"Of course that's not the only way." Robin grinned and picked the tome up from the ground beside him, Lucina sheathed Falchion and came closer. Robin was aware that the two had the unspoken question and he said, "Here," he said holding his hand out and the ball of flames appeared easily, "Relax and hold out your hand." He said and to his surprise when he tipped the flame into Lucina's hand it didn't fizzle out but stayed quite happily dancing away in her palm. He soon grinned however, "This is interesting. It seems you've definitely got latent mana...and a significant amount to boot." Robin said and there was an expression that crossed her face briefly, and Robin had a feeling a certain, unwelcome individual had shown up. He cleared his throat, "At any rate it's entirely up to you if you wish to train in magic or not. I'm sure it won't hurt, especially since there are a few tome wielding classes you could make good use of." Robin said, and he turned to see Cordelia, "Don't you have your daughter to worry about?" He said, "Or better yet, going and talking to your actual pair up partner instead of being a nuisance?"

"We need to talk." She said and Robin sighed,

"No we don't." He said turning his back on her, "If you weren't so obsessed with Chrom and finding someone to replace him, we wouldn't be here." He heard the lance drop and continued, "Admit it, you don't know a gods' damn thing about me, and you never cared to know, you only want me so no one else can marry me, well sorry but I am not playing along with your lies, not now, not ever." He said sharply, and Lucina looked down, the fire fading. Robin spoke, "We should probably get on with our training Morgan."

Morgan immediately let out a low sigh, "Okay." She said forcefully brightly and Robin suddenly pat the girl's head with a gentle hand. Lucina met his apologetic expression and she spoke,

"Mind if I sit in?"

Robin smiled softly, "Of course not. You might find it a little dull, but I don't see any issue, besides it'll give you a rough idea of defensive verses offensive magic."

~*~

Morgan was almost as skilled as Robin himself was. As night came, Robin sat in his tent, his head pounding though he'd not had any ale, let alone any alcohol to cause such a headache. He sat clutching it in his hands, low whimpers of pain escaping him. It was worse than usual.

If there was one thing Robin kept from the Shepherds it was this.

The pain was horrible, and he _couldn't_ let them see him like this, not when he was currently being looked down at. He heard all of the hurtful words spoken. Word spread fast, not only about Severa being upset about Robin's assessment of her, but also Cordelia being told off, though to be fair that was overdue.

Robin held his right hand out and created a flame, the headache slowly fading as he gazed into the flames. He wasn't sure how long he sat, just staring at the fire, but he heard the familiar footsteps of Lucina, of all people and he reached over to one of the candles and the flame jumped to light his tent up, he spoke, "I'm decent."

Lucina pushed the flap aside and to his surprise she carried a tray with two bowls of clearly stew, "I noticed that you weren't at dinner, so...I brought you something. It's...very rowdy in the mess tent."

"Oh boy…" Robin sighed, moving his books off the small table, "I can imagine...gods they're so immature." He groaned. Lucina set the tray down and Robin took a bowl and spoon and sat on his cot, "I should have known she'd complain about having the truth thrown at her like that." He groaned before taking a bite. He sighed. It wasn't his most favourite stew, but he'd still eat it, "I bet this time it was Nowi and Ricken on kitchen duty."

Lucina blinked, "How could you tell?" She asked surprised,

Robin chuckled, "They make a very bland stew. Though I do have a remedy for that." He grinned and set his bowl on the table near Lucina's and opened the small chest at the end of his cot, "Hrm...looks like I'll have to run the Anna gauntlet tomorrow...damn...ah well, can't be helped." He pulled out a vial filled with a spiced powder and gave it a tiny shake over Lucina's stew and three sizeable ones over his own. After a quick stir, Robin let out a contented sigh, "Much better." He said after a bite. Lucina giggled and Robin felt a burst of happiness. He enjoyed making her happy. She appreciated his efforts and unlike Cordelia and seemed to reciprocate.

The pair enjoyed their meal in relative silence, though there was polite conversation between them. Robin explaining more about latent mana to Lucina and Lucina asking about various spells that could be used both to defend and attack.

It was one of his more pleasant meals, though he decided it was because of the company, than the actual food. He almost was sure that there was a slight tension between them, not unpleasant but almost drawing him closer to Lucina for some reason, though he knew it wasn't the right time for that.

He sighed as he lay back on his cot, eyes half closed. The headache came back, but it was a manageable dull throbbing pain he could ignore. What he couldn't ignore was going on outside his tent. It was an argument with Severa and Morgan, the former clearly didn't realise who's tent she was outside of as the altercation was clearly her doing and poor Morgan was being essentially attacked verbally.

He groaned and pulled himself off his cot, came to the flap and pulled it back harshly and snapped, "You've said quite enough for one gods' damn night. Fuck off." Severa froze like a deer in sight of a hunter. Robin glared at her, "Go. Now. I do not want to see you anywhere near Morgan again. Least of all if the only thing you can think of doing is antagonizing her." Severa spluttered something about it being Morgan's fault and Robin truly rounded on her, "That certainly wasn't what _I_ heard going on." He said sharply, his voice raising slightly, "How about the next time you try to lie, you actually make an effort to make it believable, or better yet, maybe admit the damn truth instead. Honestly I don't care. You're not my problem." He drew in a deep breath, "You okay Morgan?" His tone softened and Morgan looked like she was close to tears as Severa stormed off, though Robin ignored her entirely. Unthinkingly Robin placed an arm around Morgan's shoulders, and she suddenly pressed to his chest and the real crying began, "Hey, Morgan...it's okay. It's okay...she won't be able to say shit like that again." Robin said soothingly, he settled for simply providing her the clear emotional support she needed.

It took half an hour and by that time, Frederick had shown up as he was on second watch duty, having been forcefully made to by Robin previously in order to ensure the knight actually got some rest.

Morgan was hiccuping and sniffling, and Robin was feeling a little stiff from standing still for so long. Morgan was wiping her tears with a handkerchief and Robin could finally move, "Better Morgan?" Robin asked the girl and Morgan nodded,

"Thanks for sticking up for me." Morgan said and Frederick frowned,

"Did something happen?" He asked,

"Yeah, Severa happened." Robin said darkly, and Frederick actually looked shocked at first until Robin added, "I believe her intent was to deliberately lash out at Morgan, too bad for Severa however I had the displeasure of hearing the entire exchange outside of my damn tent, you'd think Cordelia would be able to reign in her stupid brat."

Frederick sighed and he looked at Morgan frowned slightly, "You intend to inform Cordelia?" He asked,

"What do you think?" Robin said with a roll of his eyes, "Cordelia is clearly out of her depth, this is going to be brought to Chrom's attention. Miss Attitude needs a fair punishment and if it were left to me...well let's just say it's none of my business to dish out her punishment because you can be it will be far worse than anything Chrom could ever dream of coming up with. That's on Chrom or Cordelia, anyway."

There was a sigh before Morgan spoke up, "C-could I move my tent tomorrow night, please?" She asked and Robin replied,

"Sure, that is easily arranged enough, near mine I assume?"

"I-if that's okay…" Morgan said still sniffling,

"It's fine." Robin assured her. He watched as Morgan left to get to her tent and he sighed before heading back into his tent and closed the flap, laying back down on his cot.

The conversation floating in his mind. It was excessively cruel what Severa had said, calling Morgan an impostor and accusing her of ruining any chance Severa had to 'get to know her father and change his mind about her mother' subscribing to the lie she was fabricating. Worse still she had the Shepherds on her side. Not Lucina or Morgan but nearly everyone else who believed her little sob story. He wasn't going to marry Cordelia, no matter what anyone said.

~*~

The next morning saw Robin being extra grouchy as he had not gained enough rest the night before. True to his word he spoke with Chrom, and was surprised by the fact that Chrom seemed to know already, doubtless Frederick _had_ saved Robin the trouble. Morgan was close to tears again which annoyed him, but seeing as she was talking to Chrom before he had arrived, Robin knew Chrom was getting Morgan's side of the story.

"Ah, Robin." Chrom looked up, "I was just about to go looking for you. Frederick told me that there was an altercation between Morgan and Severa-"

"Yeah I heard the whole thing." Robin said as he picked up a cup of tea from the pot that was off to the side of the table in the strategy tent a condition of Maribelle's of course, "Severa wasn't exactly quiet about it." He took a sip, set the cup down in front of where he wanted to sit and once he'd sat down added, "It was excessive." He sipped from the cup again and Morgan was looking down, "Also from here on out, Morgan's tent will be near mine, at least in the interim." Robin said calmly and Chrom looked surprised, but then he sighed as Robin proceeded to drain his cup,

"Fine." He said and Robin finished his cup of tea just as Maribelle came in,

"Welp that's my cue to clear out." Robin said preemptively wanting to avoid the display of affection he knew was coming, "Come on Morgan, let's get out of here before those two start."

Morgan quickly got up and the pair left the tent, "Are they always like that?" Morgan asked curiously and Robin snorted,

"Depends. They tend to forget sometimes that there are people around them." Robin explained, "I tolerate it but it's still horrible."

"That's an awful thing to say Robin!" Sumia cried out and Robin said,

"Well excuse me for finding it uncomfortable to see those two all over each other near fucking one another-"

" **Robin**!"

"What? That's exactly what's happening."

Sumia sighed, "Two years and you haven't changed a bit have you?" She asked and Robin replied with a smirk,

"You know it only adds to my supposed charm." He joked, "Before I forget weren't you and Henry-"

" **Robin**!" Sumia cried and he threw his head back and laughed,

"Oh boy...I thought I saw some Rosannese kissing going on-"

" **Oh for gods' sakes**!" Robin sighed as Sully decided to interrupt, "That's enough."

"Fucking kill joy." Robin muttered, then he cleared his throat, "We all know it won't be long before those two tie the knot you know." Sumia blushed heavily, "Seriously though, go and talk to him, you two deserve to be happy." Robin said and he could see Sully look shocked, "And you." He turned grinning more widely, "When are you and Stahl going to hook up?"

" **Son of a bitch**!" Sully snapped and Robin laughed as he dodged the fist that was aimed at him,

"Ha, not so nice when the shoe's on the other fucking foot _is it_ Sully?" Robin snapped at Sully and the shock on both her and Sumia's faces as they realised exactly what Robin was getting at. He turned to Morgan, "Had breakfast yet?" He asked and Morgan shook her head, "Why don't we check on Lucina and make sure she's taking care of herself then?" He offered and Morgan replied,

"Okay!" And the pair left behind Sully who was completely shook.


	3. To Shatter Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin and Lucina admit they have feelings for one another...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robin...please stop swearing...this is three chapters you've been swearing in now...

As Robin made his rounds with Morgan he noticed that the mess tent was full and sure enough Lucina wasn't present and hadn't been all morning, nor was she in her tent.

It left only one option and Morgan called out to Lucina, who was predictably training. She turned and was surprised to see the two tacticians. Then she smiled softly, "Robin, Morgan. I...I didn't realise it was so late."

Robin chuckled, "It happens sometimes." He replied and Lucina came over to join them.

~*~

After breakfast there was a strategy meeting, and Robin sighed as he made his way to the strategy tent. This wasn't going to go well. As it stood, he'd yet to make any form of serious choice, but knowing the Shepherds the way he did…

A sigh escaped Robin.

He arrived, silently took his seat and waited for Chrom to start the meeting. Flavia was currently in a discussion with Frederick, and he could see Tharja looking in his direction. Lucina and Morgan sat near Robin and Chrom finally seemed to realise that Robin was present, though he saw Cordelia had asked Morgan to move, Robin spoke sharply, "Just sit beside Morgan." He snapped at Cordelia, making everyone jump, Cordelia frowned but did as Robin said, "There are plenty of other chairs you know."

It was a great start to the meeting.

Robin ran through what they were going to do, and when he got to who would be working together, Lucina gave him a look, and Robin knew what she was asking, so he decided to mess with the Shepherds. As they'd messed with him, so he would mess with them. He listed off the pairings of Lucina's timeline minus him and Cordelia as combat pairs keeping them shrouded as much as he possibly could to make sure no one figured it out as the contrary. The look on several faces was priceless. Sully was the first to blow up with her firey temper making it difficult to talk as she yelled "Hells no!" as loudly as possible, followed by Vaike complaining equally loudly. Robin cleared his throat, but it was to no avail. No one was listening and Lucina sighed. Robin shook his head, tapped Morgan on the shoulder and motioned for Lucina to join them.

Only when they had completely gotten clear of the tent did Robin sigh heavily, "Really they're a bunch of gods damn hypocrites…" he groaned, "They're willing to mess with _my_ life but they get pissed the moment someone else messes with theirs." Lucina sighed and Robin continued, "I think...I should leave the Shepherds for a while."

The two looked shocked but Lucina spoke, "Are you sure Robin?"

"I want to walk my own path, and if being with them won't let me do that…" Robin said, "Then I have no choice but to leave."

~*~

Robin shouldered the pack on his back and made his way from the Shepherds camp towards where the mounts were kept. He wasn't alone. Lucina and Morgan both insisted on coming with him for his two day 'trip', a thinly veiled disguise for Robin to leave the Shepherds for a couple days off on his own, though fitting in some personal shopping was part of the reason, it was to get away from the judgmental glares and whispers.

He came to Zahra's makeshift stable and the wyvern sniffed his hand, "Come on, we're going to have a little vacation for a little while with Morgan and Lucina." Zahra sniffed Lucina's hand then sniffed Lucina's hair and purred. "Don't mind her, Zahra does that to Sumia too." Robin chuckled, Lucina carefully extended her hand and stroked the wyvern's neck behind the horns. It seemed to work as Zahra purred much louder, "And that is her favourite spot." Robin chuckled, "Don't pet her snout though, she hates it there." Robin said calmly.

Morgan came around with her dark pegasus and Robin ducked into the makeshift stable. He checked to make sure Zahra was ready to go before he went to the makeshift tack room.

He arrived to see that Severa had her hands on her hips looking angry, he paused as Lucina spoke, "Severa, he's not the same person as your father...Robin is...he's someone else entirely." She said as Morgan was trying to stay out of the clear fight, the only reason Robin heard it was because he was close enough to hear it.

"Only you would use that kind of excuse!" Severa yelled back angrily, "Can't you see it?! You've ruined everything!" Severa yelled, "They were happy together and you ruined it!"

"Severa, please...stop lying to yourself." Lucina pleaded, "You know they are always fighting." She looked pained, "You never knew in the past because your mother did her best to shield you from it."

"That's not true and you know it!" Severa yelled,

"Sorry but she's right Sev." Cynthia piped up from Lovebird's stable, "I was only really young at the time before our Robin went missing but the argument they had…"

"How the hells would you know, you're just siding with your pathetic sister and justifying her actions!" Severa screamed and Robin froze as he saw Chrom a couple of stables away from Cynthia jolt up in shock as several of the animals were uneasy because of Severa's yelling. He wouldn't have heard anything before she'd yelled that line out.

"You know that isn't true Severa." Cynthia said as Chrom quietly came in closer Robin knew that Chrom would hear the entire exchange, "Look, I know you want to hate Lucy, that you want to blame her for something she had nothing to do with, but you're only making it worse. Robin isn't _our_ Robin. He doesn't even like your mother, and I would think any dating advice book would tell you it's pointless to force someone into a relationship they don't want, or to be with someone they don't love in a romantic way. Plus you're hurting him." Cynthia said, "You're just like everyone else, only thinking your way is right! What if our Robin didn't _want_ to be with your mother?" She asked,

"He never did." Lucina said quietly, "Mother was the only person he felt he could talk to about such things and she was the only person who really understood how he felt."

Cynthia blinked, "Wait...you heard that conversation too?"

"I did…" Lucina looked down, "I tried not to...but…"

Severa went to yell again but Robin decided enough was enough and made a particularly loud stomp and they all froze, but he simply walked over to Zahra's stable, saddle resting on his left arm with the headpiece resting over it. The reins were resting on his left shoulder, "Do you mind giving me a hand please Lucina?" Robin asked gently and she looked relieved,

"Of course Robin." She replied and like that the situation seemed to defuse. Lucina opened the door and Robin began to tack up Zahra. Lucina helped him as Morgan had her pegasus in cross ties not too far from the stable.

~*~

The flight was quiet as Robin contemplated how to approach what he'd heard to Lucina without Morgan catching onto it, having a feeling it should be a private conversation between Lucina and him. In the end they came across a good place to make camp and Robin knew that Zahra wouldn't go too far given the fact she was content to curl up and sleep the moment that they touched down.

By the time night fell, Robin sat by the fire quietly keeping an eye on the stew he was making when Morgan came from feeding her pegasus, "Oh, is that...a sand bear stew?!" She cried excitedly and Robin grinned,

"Yeah, my favorite." He said and Lucina came from the riverside having brought a full pot of water to be boiled, "I did promise to make some for you both to try." Robin grinned, and Morgan looked very pleased,

"Super spicy and super perfection." Morgan joked which made Robin laugh,

"Actually more mild because I'm fairly sure Lucina here wouldn't be able to have it too spicy, but we can always add to our own bowls." Robin replied and Morgan grinned happily.

"Yes!" She cheered happily and Robin smiled. It was nice to have them with him.

The meal was good, Robin ate his fill, Morgan ate far too much and lay in her tent seemingly happy while Lucina looked into the flames. He sighed, "How're you holding up?" Robin asked gently, "I know Severa said some pretty horrible things today."

Lucina sighed, "So you heard what she said…" Lucina looked down and Robin scooted over to her, careful to maintain a respectful distance,

"I did. But I don't care what she said as it was entirely uncalled for, at least what I heard said anyway." Robin said calmly, "You and Cynthia are right. I'm not the same man as he is. I never will be. He and I have our own paths to walk. He walked his and I've got to walk mine." He cupped Lucina's chin gently, tipping her face up and gazing into her eyes trying to _show_ her he meant what he was saying. The blunette suddenly blushed. Robin could feel his cheeks flaming but he _knew_ putting it off was a bad idea. There was a beat of silence between them but it wasn't uncomfortable, just slightly tense in a way Robin wasn't sure how to handle. He lowered his gaze and let his hand fall to his lap after a moment- perhaps he'd been too forward.

"Robin…" Lucina took his hand in hers and he was still blushing. The silence had a tension that could be cut with a blade. He knew what he desperately wanted to say to her, the feelings he wished he could share with her feelings that would…

_"The truth can be a very painful double edged blade. It can free and hurt you."_

Robin decided it wasn't the right time to confess his feelings. He didn't want to put Lucina on the spot. Nor was he completely sure she was even reciprocating his feelings. He sighed as the sun dipped below the horizon. This wasn't the right time. He was sure of it.

~*~

After a hearty breakfast, Zahra grumbled as Robin saddled her up until he gave her an apple he'd been storing in his coat pocket for her. She purred as Robin carefully smoothed the girth and checked her sides to make sure there no sores. Once that task was done he helped to pack up the tents and had a quick wash before they left for the second leg of Robin's 'trip'.

The rest of the journey was easy, the Anna gathering he was looking for being very obvious and easily spotted. Lucina let out a gasp and Robin chuckled as he urged Zahra down. The wyvern landed and once Robin had her tethered in the shade of one of the few trees about, he approached the makeshift market with quite a few Annas in one place, each one selling various goods. He was looking specifically for the one that sold spices. He gave Morgan a pouch with some gold- her pay he'd gotten Chrom to give the girl before digging into his pockets for his own gold pouch.

He approached the stall and the Anna present looked up and grinned, "Hey handsome~" She giggled,

"Seven silver worth of Plegian spices please." Robin said pointedly and Anna sighed,

"Here you go." She handed him a box with seven vials each filled with the mixed spices he was after. Robin gave her the necessary pieces of silver before turning to see Morgan looking at the clothing stall. He blinked at the...garment...Morgan was looking at. A sigh escaped him before he made his way over,

"You're...not thinking of getting... _that_...are you?" He asked her,

"Isn't it amazing?!" Morgan said brightly and Robin sighed,

"It's...certainly...uh...colourful…" Robin had never seen something so garish in his life. Yet seeing how Morgan's face lit up made Robin wonder what kind of life the girl had led.

"Oh, Morgan, look at this one~!" Lucina called and Robin wondered if the pair were having a contest he wasn't aware of. Robin sighed,

"Okay...is there something I'm missing?" He asked and the two turned to face him. He smiled softly, "As...pretty...as they are, perhaps something more like this?" The dress he'd pulled out was softer on the eye colourwise, but still pretty, especially with the pale blue ribbon on the waist. It had a wide skirt, the top part had long sleeves and a delicate lace around the neckline and cuffs. He could see the two gasp in surprise and then they broke into smiles, clearly he'd picked something they liked.

"It's so pretty!" Morgan cooed happily, "I think this one will look amazing on you, Lucina."

Lucina for her part blushed, "You really think so?"

"That makes two of us then." Robin grinned and the Anna who ran the stall came over,

"Looking to try something on?" She was a very motherly Anna and she spotted the dress Robin had held out, "Oooh, you have good taste sir~" Anna smiled, "And it's only fifteen silver~"

Morgan and Lucina both looked excited and Robin saw Lucina pull her pouch of gold out that Chrom had given her. He sighed softly, crisis averted. Though seeing how happy Lucina was, it made him smile.

They wandered around the market for a while before Robin came to an Anna that sold books. None of the titles were appealing and he couldn't spot any tactical books. The sun was about halfway in the sky by the time they came back to Zahra and Morgan's pegasus. Robin loosened the reins and once everything was packed into the saddlebags they left back to the Shepherds' camp.

When they finally arrived, it was to a commotion. Risen had decided to ambush the camp and Robin pulled up, "Morgan, now would be a very good time to make use of your thunder magic!" He called over the roar of the wind,

"On it!" Morgan cried as Robin looked over the battlefield. They arrived in the nick of time it seemed.

He saw Chrom engaging a particularly large risen and sighed, "Of fucking course he'd do that." Robin muttered, "You ready Lucina?"

"Yes Robin." Lucina assured him and he landed close to the camp,

"Tell Chrom to get everyone to regroup," Robin instructed her, "Let him know pair up will be essential to shake the risen off."

Lucina nodded and took off towards her father as Robin urged Zahra upwards, guarding Lucina from attacks while checking on the exact location of the risen. Twice he'd swooped down and blocked attacks from hitting Lucina as she ran.

It was intense until Lucina got to Chrom, a risen tried to hurt her and Robin easily blocked the attack, " **Back off**!" Robin barked at the risen, knocking it backwards slightly, in turn giving Lucina an opening she'd needed. Falchion whistled through the air and nailed her target. Chrom spoke with her before looking at Robin, the tactician nodded and Chrom moved rapidly to follow Robin's strategy.

~*~

An hour passed before the risen were cleared out and Robin sighed as he lent on the table beneath him as Chrom sat across from him. The two had not said a word, neither of them knew what to say. Not only was Robin's plan to have Cordelia with Gregor working on helping the pegasus knight, it was _Gregor_ who'd saved Cordelia's life, and the life of her mount. But apparently that wasn't the only thing to come out of the woodwork either.

Chrom apparently found out that Sumia was Lucina's mother as well. At the worst possible time as Sumia was expecting her and Henry's first child and Chrom had already had the infant Lucina with Maribelle. There was no apology however for the Shepherds overwhelming pressure for Robin to marry Cordelia.

He sighed.

The news wasn't good. Several injuries, some enough to render certain Shepherds unable to fight for a few days and they had to close in on the Dragon's Table before things got worse. Though the fact that the Shepherds had got ambushed proved one of Robin's theories. They were looking for something and having not found what they were looking for, they wreaked havoc.

Staring at the map not too far from his face Robin dragged himself off the table and frowned. There were some cliffs and like that a plan whirled in his head.

True they'd have problems with aerial ambushes but they had plenty of archers…

"You're thinking something Robin." Chrom spoke and the tactician suddenly smirked,

"Maybe." He said casually tracing the possible route they could travel. Something about it made his skin tingle, as if…

Almost as if it was a route only he'd really known.

He checked the map and frowned again. It would be difficult and dangerous but…

"Okay maybe I have something." Robin said calmly and Chrom looked surprised.

~*~

If anyone said that they'd be travelling through sheer cliffs with a river roaring below them Robin would have laughed.

That they were travelling through such a restricted area meant that both mages and archers were on high alert, and Robin knew that they really had to watch their steps. As such he'd insisted on any skittish horses to not be hitched to any wagons, they needed sure footed and calm animals to lead the rest of the mounts. Zahra was nowhere in sight as the wyvern had taken off the moment Severa had opened the stable, something that annoyed Robin when he found out, reducing the tactician to walking along the convoy in a particularly fowl mood. He glared at the young woman who was in the wagon before him with Cordelia insisting she was fine enough to drive. Robin dropped it, focusing instead on keeping an eye out for Zahra or any other Plegian wyverns.

Panne had been in her taguel form and suddenly stomped her foot. A warning that they should stop. Robin trotted easily up towards the front of the convoy, "What did you hear Panne?" Robin asked voice low,

"Risen."

The words made Robin groan, "Cherche, Gerome!" Robin called out only for the screeches to come from the left. He groaned as his worst nightmare of flying risen made their way rapidly closing on the Shepherds position, "Archers!" Robin yelled running now towards the back of the convoy to grab a longbow. He cursed loudly, "Fucking cunts!" He said once he located a longbow and some arrows.

Once he found the weapon he drew in a deep breath, calming his mind. He was focused on the dark flier in his sight. Another deep breath and his muscles ached as he pulled back the bow.

While Robin wasn't the strongest of the Shepherds physically, he could still manage a decent enough amount of power to handle a bow. He could feel the subtle shake of his arms as he pulled the bow back fully, he only had a second before he couldn't hold the bowstring back and was making his shot count. The sharp _twang_ of the string as he let it go made Robin acutely aware of time seeming to slow down. The arrow flew and hit the risen in the chest, Robin quickly grabbing another one and knocking it into place to prepare for a second shot. The only problem with bows was that they were so difficult to draw quickly at close range, and an archer would often times find themselves in trouble unless they had enough space to fire their arrows.

The second shot was every bit as difficult as the first but luckily Robin's aim was fairly accurate enough to nail the risen and make it fall from the saddle, the dark pegasus let out a whinny and kept flying towards them, anything to get away from the risen that terrified it. Robin had told the Shepherds to leave any animals on the battlefield alone if they could help it, and in this case, given that the mounts were fleeing once they were clear of riders, proved Robin's case.

To his shock it landed not too far from him and quick thinking saw the tactician catch the flapping reins, "Got you." He said having dropped the bow to make the catch. The pegasus stopped, ears flicking as it licked its lips, "There...no one's going to hurt you." He spoke calmly and the pegasus seemed settled, "Cynthia!" Robin called calmly and he handed the pegasus to her. Thankfully there weren't as many risen as Robin feared and they were able to clear them up. They even got a couple of new recruits in the form of pegasi, so he'd take what he could.

However it wasn't long before another wyvern screeched sounded, and Robin saw the shadow dive towards Cordelia's wagon, the horse deciding now was the perfect time to lash out and kick itself clear of the hitching and it bolted, causing a panic as those who were on foot tried to catch it before more trouble was caused.

The wagon was racing down before anyone could even react and Robin pulled out a wind tome, only to get knocked backwards as he cast a powerful blast of magic sending the wagon forwards.

" **Robin**!" Lucina cried out barely catching him, only for the momentum to make them both fall down towards the water below,

" **Robin! Lucina!** " Chrom yelled as Vaike and Stahl barely caught the wagon and Panne had caught the errant horse. The wyvern roared and leapt clean forwards towards the falling pair and Robin recognised her just as he hit the water with Lucina in a spectacular splash. Zahra roared at her human, an agitated sound that reverberated through his head.

~*~

It was only when Zahra had swum under him that Robin had the presence of mind to pull Lucina closer and reach to grip the edge of Zahra's wing which she used to beat up towards the surface. Robin wasn't sure how much time passed but suddenly the three of them broke the surface, Robin coughing and struggling to keep a firm grip on Lucina who'd managed to be sat behind Zahra's wings. Robin shifted wheezing slightly. He managed to get himself in the dip of Zahra's shoulders and used his thighs to hold on, "You okay Lucina?" He asked over the running water as Zahra did her best to get out of the current,

"I...I think so. What of Zahra?"

Robin frowned, as his wyvern managed to get out of the current and clawed her way to shallower water. He and Lucina were soaked thanks to the fall and despite the heat, he did feel cold, "I don't think she'll be flying any time soon." Robin replied, pained. The sun was dipping below the horizon and he shivered from the wind cutting through his soaked clothing. He could hear Lucina's teeth chattering and knew that they had to find shelter at the very least.

"Th-there!" Lucina cried and Robin followed where she was pointing,

"That should work." Robin replied and once Zahra was mostly in shallow water he slid off her back, "Thanks Zahra, I owe you one. Sorry I haven't got an apple for you." He said and the wyvern butt his hand and let out a low purr. Lucina half slid, half fell into the shallows and Robin came to her as she got her footing,

"We're...going to need to probably dry out as best we can." Lucina said with a sigh, Robin was well aware of that and yet...the adrenaline wore off and Robin collapsed landing with the water just deep enough to be up to his neck seated. He saw Lucina look at him worried,

"I never...want to do _that_ again. I mean...falling like that…"

Lucina came and offered Robin a hand, "Well I for one hope that it doesn't happen again. The last thing I would want is to lose someone dear to me again."

"Well, I'll just have to try not to let it happen again." He said gently, taking her hand. His coat was soaked but he almost didn't care, he added, "Especially since the last thing I want to do is upset my beloved."

It took him a moment to realise that Lucina _heard_ what he'd said. He felt his cheeks go bright red. He'd really dug the hole this time…

Zahra purred and Lucina blushed, "Then…"

Robin pulled his hood up and tried to hide the fact he'd dug a really big hole. It wasn't until Lucina gently tipped the hood back a bit more that Robin noticed she was blushing, "Robin…" she was a bright shade of pink across her cheeks, eyes slightly wide.

Robin felt the blush even stronger than before, he half sighed, half whimpered, "I…" he bit his bottom lip and felt like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole, the timing just didn't feel _right_. He wasn't sure he was _ready_ and yet he'd let it slip massively already how he felt. "I…"

He looked down briefly. This wasn't a battlefield and yet that was easier to handle than this…

Lucina suddenly closed the gap and Robin froze as she shyly kissed him.

Time seemed to stand still and it took Robin a moment to even realise but when she drew away blushing even more fiercely he blinked and without hesitation cupped her chin gently before stealing another kiss. Robin let out a low sigh of relief. He might not have had the right words but perhaps...perhaps showing how she made him feel would get the point across more. He knew that if Chrom _ever_ found out...Robin was as good as dead…

~*~

It was by the low light of the sun that Robin and Lucina found a place that would be acceptable to pass the night while their clothing dried, though that was quite far from their minds as hands entwined and Robin could see Zahra find a comfortable place to sleep.

Once the tactician got the fire going he scooted close to Lucina as they shared body heat to keep warm.

By the time morning arrived Robin was back in his now dried clothing, he checked on Zahra who it seemed had recovered from yesterday's swim. Lucina joined Robin as he climbed up onto Zahra's back. It was slightly harder to ride the wyvern without a saddle, but Robin knew a couple of tricks to make it work.

By the time they were airborne it was clear that they'd been separated from the Shepherds and likely at least three days behind them, by Robin's rough estimate, though having Zahra up higher than normal would cut the time it took, it would also wear her out less as a result thanks to the stronger winds.

As it so happened Robin's rough estimate wasn't actually as accurate as he initially thought as Lucina tapped his shoulder and managed to point downwards.

Below miraculously was the camp of the Shepherds and by the look of it Cynthia rising to meet them, frantically trying to get his attention. Robin focused on urging Zahra to land. The wyvern choosing to obey her rider despite the fact that he lacked reins to control her fully. Zahra's decent was graceful and once she landed Robin felt her bunch up as she snarled at Severa who happened to come over, looking first relieved then sour when she saw Lucina behind him. "Hey! That's enough Zahra!" Robin said and the wyvern spat embers at the white haired girl, "Severa...just go and get Sumia to bring the halter before Zahra takes off again for the love of fucking Naga!"

His words were enough to make the stupid girl jump and thankfully she actually did as she was told. As soon as Sumia arrived Zahra purred. The pregnant woman gave the wyvern an apple as Lucina hopped off. Robin hopped off, and misjudged the landing and his weight slammed down causing his legs and ankles to have pain shoot through them. He took the lead from Sumia and led Zahra to the makeshift stables, hobbling slightly as he did so.

Only once she was safely in her stable, then did Robin make a beeline for the mess tent. His stomach let out an appreciative growl as he heaped up a plate with food. He sighed as he sat down. It wasn't his favourite food but he was starving and he'd take any food, even the bland smelling stew. He ate half of the bowl before sighing. It wasn't bad per say, but it was missing _something_ that Robin couldn't place. He sighed as he polished off the bowl and set it with the rest of the to be cleaned dishes.

That done he headed out to the strategy tent to see how Morgan was holding up. He passed Cordelia and ignored her. His mind completely elsewhere in that moment as Morgan cried out and flung her arms around his waist crying. He sighed and gently stroked her hair, "I'm okay, thankfully Zahra saved Lucina and I when she did."

Morgan sniffled and said something unintelligible and Robin smiled softly. He could tell she was relieved.

~*~

The consequences of what happened between Robin and Lucina when they'd fallen into the river and got pushed downstream was at first difficult for Robin to avoid talking about, though he did his best to keep the fact he'd _kissed_ Lucina from Chrom, to the point of lying about it saying it didn't happen. But the subtle changes in his and Lucina's relationship was enough to unfortunately tip the Shepherds off.

He wasn't even sure what gave them away to be honest.

He sighed as it took them a week longer than intended to get to the Dragon's Table. Thankfully the route Robin chose did cut their time down from two weeks however.

He barely noticed Chrom talking to Lucina and instead looked at the rocky outcrop they were passing, fashioned like a skull. It was then that a headache the likes of which he'd not had in a while came back to haunt him. The pain was so much he didn't know why the ground was racing up to meet him, but that it was.


	4. When Men and Angels Fall

"Robin!"

"Robin!"

" _Robin_!"

He moaned. The pain abating slowly as the world came into focus. Lucina was at his side, "Robin…" she spoke gently and the tactician slowly sat up,

"What...what happened?" He asked weakly as Lissa appeared,

"Oh you're awake Robin!" Lissa cried and he couldn't help wincing at the volume of her voice. She seemed to notice it, and Lucina spoke,

"You were out for three days." Her voice soft and Robin frowned,

"Three...days…?"

"Yeah," Lissa spoke up, "You really scared us. It was like you were almost...like…"

Robin winced in pain. The headache throbbing softly despite his best attempt to ignore the pain. He wondered if he was dreaming but the pain proved he wasn't. It was then that Chrom came in, face drawn, "We have a situation." He said and seeing Robin sighed, "I'm glad you're awake Robin. We need your help."

"Why does that sound ominous?" Robin asked as he tried to move, only to feel his headache suddenly become much worse than he could handle. He barely bit back the low cry of pain,

"Well it can't be helped I'm afraid." Chrom spoke, "There's a gathering of people not in their right minds, and-"

Robin felt a true stab of pain. The kind of pain that he couldn't ignore, "Robin?!" Lissa cried, worried for the tactician. This wasn't something he could wave off, though he did his best to try. Lissa frowned, "Robin, you are in no condition-"

Robin pushed himself to stand and Lissa was clearly worried. "We don't…" Robin bit back a cry of pain, "Have time…" Chrom and Lissa both tried to stop him but Robin braced himself, "If what I think is happening, we need to move out, now."

Lucina winced, "Robin…" she spoke softly, and he could feel the pain abate. He was glad it was. He gripped his coat and pulled it on,

"I'd wager we have less than an hour to get to where we need to be." Robin said as the pain finally faded to a less intense level, but by no means was it completely gone.

His tone silenced Chrom and Lissa. Lucina knew and understood far better than her father as she looked to him. Their eyes met and the unspoken message between them. This was going to be an intense battle, of that he was certain.

The journey was easier than he expected, the gathering of people shuffling about was off putting but Robin knew somehow what was going on. They were being pulled by one of the most powerful blood curses he'd ever seen. He didn't hear what Chrom and Lissa was saying as he surveyed the scene, a scene that disturbed him.

The sheer number of people, from the old and rickety to the young and spritely worried him. Not even children were spared from the curse and to that end Robin felt sick. He noticed that there was an opening and as he stood there, he saw Aversa gripping her tome and he knew that there was a battle to be had.

Robin knew outright what had to be done and as he joined Lucina to cover the flank, it was clear that Cordelia hadn't listened to him at all. Truly she was lucky to be alive at this point, as she nearly took an arrow to her chest, her mount roaring as they both barely dodged certain death. Robin leapt forwards deflecting the lance that tried to hit Lucina as the Deadlord risen assumed Lucina would make for an easy target. There was a flicker of relief before the pair turned their focus onto the more pressing enemy, Aversa. Robin didn't know how they'd gone from covering the flank to facing off with Aversa but he decided it mattered little. Robin barely heard what she'd said, but he quipped, "If we stand on a grand stage then I'll be happy to assist with your exit. Especially since you're as blind as Excellus, clearly." He'd never seen an expression of disbelief and fury like that on Aversa's face. Yet Robin wasn't done and somehow it was...fitting to say what he said next, "Don't be Validar's pawn, be your own, _true_ self. The man is a snake, or do you conveniently ignore that he's using you like everyone else?"

Time stood still and he saw the flicker of magic, but for some reason it didn't even register as hurting. It didn't even do any damage. He saw Aversa fall from her mount, and scramble to get away. He knew that whatever was to happen was going to change everything again.

~*~

They arrived just in time to see Validar at the altar and Robin knew what had to be done. He stood as Chrom drew Falchion. The arrogance on Validar's face was clear to Robin and he knew it was almost time to pull out his master stroke, but not before he'd wiped that arrogant smirk off Validar's face.

Robin drew Arcfire from his belt, and seeing that there was a fight to be had, focused on what he had to do. Stall Validar, wipe the smirk off his face and avert Lucina's future from occurring.

It was supposed to be easily done and yet…

There was a snag from an unexpected bramble.

_Robin_ was supposed to be Grima.

If the Shepherds' ire wasn't on his head before it was now, perhaps even Lucina's ire though he had a feeling she had all the reason in the world. Even Chrom was keeping some distance. Though Robin knew that his choice was at hand. He had to make sure whatever happened, Lucina's future didn't happen. It was the least he could do for his beloved.

~*~

The clash of spells created a light show and as the flames rolled around him, Robin felt at ease. Fire always had a calming effect on him, like Lucina's presence. He felt vindictive pleasure when he nailed Validar in a whirlwind of exploding flames causing the fool to scream in agony as Robin decided to let his metamorphic hair down and unleash more power than usual. He found it amusing that the fake Fire Emblem melted leaving behind the one true gemstone. Robin casually approached, carefully lifted the real gemstone up and cradled it with care. He turned away from the burnt corpse of the man who'd claimed to be his father and handed it to Chrom, "What just happened?!" Chrom cried shocked,

"Oh you know, tactical stuff." Robin said calmly,

" **This isn't over damn you both**!"

Robin turned quickly, "Fuck!" He hissed and unleashed a powerful blast of magic to counter Validar's almost sneaky blast of dark magic. Robin was glad he had a quick reaction time. He needed it. The explosion briefly blinded him but it served its purpose.

~*~

It took a moment for Robin's eyes to adjust and when they did, it was to a partly demolished wall. He blinked and looked around him. Chrom stood off, gaping at Robin like the latter was a demon. Robin sighed and shrugged, "Hmm...maybe I didn't actually need _that_ much to counter him. Oh well."

Lucina ran over to them, "Father! Robin!" She cried and Robin found himself wanting to make a quip,

"Hey, we're fine. Looks like Validar was the one to really bite the dust though. If he's that gods' damn weak I don't see why he was a threat to begin with."

Chrom looked at Robin and sighed, "I don't think this is quite over yet." He said and Robin snorted,

"Because those idiots don't know when to give up, right?" He asked as Lucina came to stand beside him, "Well let's just get it over with." Robin groaned. Chrom frowned at Lucina's choice to side with Robin but said nothing as the chaos of the battlefield took over.

~*~

If anyone told Robin that Basilio would actually stick to the plan, he'd have laughed, given the ire being thrown his way he would have expected the opposite to happen. Still it would have been funny if Robin didn't spot the one individual he didn't want to see. He sighed and approached carefully. This was something only he could do.

~*~

When Robin emerged from the darkness of the Grimleal temple into the bright light of the afternoon sun, he squinted as he tried to figure out what to do. The storm that he'd heard seemed to not be happening now. A good thing that, as Robin had regained _everything_ and then some and he wasn't sure what he was going to do about that.

He sighed and wondered what his next move was to be. He'd taken out the other one, the one responsible for Lucina's future coming to pass but…

Robin sighed as he tried to get his thoughts together as they were mangled and confused. His eyes closed briefly and when he opened them, he rose. He had one of two choices, the first was to go it alone in the unforgiving desert sands beyond, shadowing the Shepherds like a shadowy guardian angel, and helping Chrom from the sidelines and not give the game away- plausible but also difficult to pull off given how close the pair had once been. The second…

The second was to leave and never return to Ylisse, and to disappear into thin air, cutting all ties with the Shepherds and leaving them to their own devices, because that went so well in Lucina's time he knew. He didn't have the confidence to agree with that plan. Nor did he have a decent replacement...Morgan wasn't ready for that kind of pressure, of that Robin was certain.

He sighed. It would have been so much easier if he didn't care about them…yet his choices were few at the present point in time. Not only did the Shepherds likely see him in the worst possible light, but it was clear that they didn't trust Robin to make the 'right' calls. He sighed. This was turning out to be such a wonderful situation indeed, worse still he could only imagine how Cordelia was being received now. It was ironic that she finally might get the ire for supposedly marrying a monster- Severa probably wouldn't be so quick to insist he was her father now either. Which left him with one thought. Maybe Robin was doomed to make poor decisions about his own love life...

~*~

Robin made his way quietly towards Flavia's camp, he had a couple of ideas that could help but in truth he didn't have much otherwise. He was aware that he was being followed but for the moment he doubted it was harmful to him and decided to continue on his pathway. He had something he needed to do after all.


	5. Truth and Lies

Robin made his way through Flavia's camp, focused on what he needed to do. It wasn't exactly easygoing, but he supposed…

"Robin?" He paused and knowing by the sound of that voice alone, he sighed, so much for getting a head start, he turned and saw Lucina with a slightly worried look,

"I'm not going to hear the end of it, am I?" He asked ruefully, rubbing the back of his neck, blushing slightly. Looking at her, the woman he _knew_ he loved was difficult, because he knew he earned her ire, and yet…

His heart skipped a beat, speeding up as nerves took a hold. A battlefield was far easier than this situation and the fact that his tratious heart was causing the problem…

He heard a confused noise from Lucina before she came forward and held his hand, "I'm not sure what you mean by that, but no matter what comes, I'll be by your side." She replied and Robin felt his heart beat _faster_ than he thought possible.

"Are you sure that this is what you want, Lucina?" He could fell the small tremor through his entire body, "They...could look down on you for- **mmmph**!"

Heat flooded his face, and for the moment in time, he wished he could just lose himself in this, kissing the woman he loved. She drew back and he couldn't help the furious red splashed across his face, even his ears felt hot. A few wolf whistles had sounded and Robin pulled his hood up shyly.

"Lucina, I got Zahra and supplies." Morgan said, appearing with both her pegasus and his wyvern. Robin blinked,

"H-how?" He asked, confused. He didn't understand how Morgan managed to coax the notoriously grouchy wyvern to follow her commands and…

He shook his head, "Is it that obvious a plan, huh?" He sighed, "Did Chrom figure it out?"

"No, Sumia was keeping him distracted." Morgan replied, and Robin sighed,

"Naturally." He felt a slight throbbing of a headache, "Well I've got something small to do...gods hope it does what it's supposed to." He pulled out the book and wrote a coded note, the numbers came easily enough and he slipped the dry note into the pages and handed it to one of the soldiers, "Give this to Khan Flavia please. She'll know what it means."

He nodded and took the book. Robin moved to Zahra and once he was aboard, Lucina climbed up behind him. He gave the camp a once over and Morgan mounted up. Robin sighed and gave his wyvern the signal to fly. He could only hope that things weren't going to go horrifically wrong.

~*~

Things turned pear shaped when he landed near a grove of date palms. If it weren't for the farmers Robin would have been a little more careful than he was. Even so, who expected an entire battalion of Plegian soldiers to appear out of nowhere and have them entirely surrounded?

Certainly not him, though in hindsight that should have been the first thing he should have anticipated, given all that had transpired.

He sighed at least they weren't outright hostile.

Robin knew that they wanted to talk and it didn't take long for them to insist Robin and his little group come to the main Plegian palace for their 'safety' and it was something that Robin knew he couldn't avoid, even if he wanted to.

It was how Robin ended up within the royal apartments with Morgan and Lucina. Zahra had been taken to the stables with Morgan's pegasus by attendants. It was all happening far too quickly for Robin to come up with any proper counters and Lucina had done her best to help him. Though at least they were safe and Robin had the time to think.

For the time being at least, they hadn't asked him about repelling the Feroxi or the Ylisseans but Robin knew it was only a matter of time, and there was also the issue of the Grimleal. He just knew it was going to end badly if he tried to use any kind of force. It also didn't seem that the Plegians who'd brought them here wanted to execute him and his small group just yet either, he'd take what boons he could after all.

He paced the room, anxiety eating at him.

"Something's not adding up here." Robin said after a moment, and he didn't notice the fact that servants had entered the room as Lucina sat with Morgan,

"Define something, Robin." Lucina said calmly, "What's on your mind?"

Robin continued his pacing, while the servants stood surreptitiously in the background, clothing making them blend in with the room as Robin moved, which wasn't much different from Ylisse and he filed the information into his mind as he assessed and worked through the situation they were in. The thoughts jumbled as he did so,

"Everything and nothing." The tactician forced out after a moment. "Some of it...bad. And not very helpful. Others undecided for now."

He noticed that Morgan was quietly lost in thought as well, "I don't know why they brought us here to be honest." She spoke up after a moment, then she looked uncomfortable as she voiced the very thought Robin was wrestling with "Because if the Grimleal were going to retaliate surely they'd have done so already, right?"

Robin hummed, "Depends." He sighed, "How loyal Plegia was to them." He frowned, "The numbers they had at the table weren't exactly small."

"So what's the plan?" Lucina asked, after a pregnant pause. Robin noticed a couple of servants arrive with a familiar face. Robin did a double take and his eyebrow raised.

~*~

Cordelia was in her tent trying to keep her composure. She couldn't believe Robin was so monumentally stubborn and was spurning _their_ daughter with a degree of hatred she never thought possible. She'd seen the girl look incredibly hurt, close to tears even as Robin snapped at her, with a look of fury across his features that Cordelia had to admit was mildly unsettling.

Robin rarely got as angry as this.

Cordelia knew he was considered something of a genius, a tactician who'd never lost a single man in the whole time he'd been working for the Shepherds. A man who had no gods damn idea how attractive he was.

It had been a little after Cordelia joined, when she'd seen him without that baggy coat of his and concluded he was attractive. It wasn't of course until Chrom's daughter was born that Cordelia began to _notice_ Robin.

He had a way with people that just...wasn't Chrom.

Sure Chrom could recruit anyone, that was a given, but Robin was something undefinable for Cordelia.

Then the Valmese war happened and Cordelia saw that Robin was _stronger_ than Chrom. Sure the tactician hid it well, but she could tell he was stronger.

She had confided in Sumia that she might have fallen for Robin and her friend's face took an unreadable expression. Saying the words made her realise it was so.

Having Severa appear...proved they were right and maybe Cordelia had a chance with him.

So when Robin rejected their daughter...it confused her. He spoke in a cold, harsh tone, "That brat is _no_ child of _mine_." He'd all but snarled and Cordelia didn't know how to react other than to keep trying to mend things between them as best she could, though not knowing where to start.

She had thought maybe Robin needed time to warm up to Severa, but every time the girl approached she was rebuffed twice as hard as the last time. Robin never had a kind word for her, he was cold and borderline cruel. Cordelia had never thought the tactician was capable of being so cold towards someone.

True Severa was cold towards her at first, but when Cordelia expressed her truest desire, a world where Severa could have peace it gave both mother and daughter a chance to bond.

Cordelia had gone to Gregor for help, hoping the older man might have some insight into the situation. He was as perplexed as them.

The real problem rose when Severa tripped on Vaike's axe and Robin was nowhere to be seen, no matter how much Chrom had called out for him. Robin was holed up in his tent, Cordelia later found out, and having only poked his head out seen Lissa then returned to his tent in a huff.

The following day, she'd been in the mess tent and heard what Robin had to say when Chrom tried to speak to Robin about his constant rebuffing of Severa. Cordelia was surprised Robin wasn't rebuffing the newest member of the Shepherds as apparently the pair had run into one another and Robin offered to take her under his wing. She was confused then stunned when he said, "The kid's training to be a tactician, Chrom. I'm the only one who can take her on. If you're really serious about her staying with the Shepherds, she's better off learning from another tactician. Unlike the spoiled brat who thinks she's my daughter, Morgan seemed to be grateful for the offer."

Cordelia saw the fork drop from Severa's hand with a particularly loud clatter as she looked pale and close to tears. Even Cordelia couldn't contain her shock. Why did Robin have it against Severa?! She'd lost _everything_ and didn't deserve-

Cordelia saw Robin carrying three plates of food to the table where Lucina and Morgan sat. It took all she had to not make a scene. Cordelia rose quietly, no longer hungry as she left for her pegasus. The only true solace she had. She wouldn't break down, it wouldn't help.

It was clear that Robin simply needed time, at least that was what Cordelia was telling herself.

~*~

On the way to the temporary stables Cordelia came across the pair up roster and frowned. Concerned she immediately came to Chrom and they made their way to the strategy tent. Cordelia couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that Robin was with Morgan and wished Robin would have spent the time with their daughter instead, like he _should_. What followed was...painful.

"About the pair up roster-" Chrom began only for Robin to immediately shoot him down,

"No." Robin snapped in response and Chrom reeled back in shock, "It's non negotiable. Cordelia is going to pair up with Gregor and Severa can go with your nephew, end of discussion."

"But-" Chrom tried again, only for Robin to put his foot down,

"I said no and I mean it!" Robin growled, drew in a deep breath of air, and spoke anger within his voice despite how calm he wanted to sound, "The roster is not to be changed. That's it. I won't hear another complaint. _From anyone do I make myself clear_?" He said sharply the furious undertone brooked no argument. Morgan spoke up,

"What about me?" She asked, "I do know my way around the battlefield, so maybe I could team up with Severa…?"

Robin sighed softly, "I'd rather you didn't have to deal with Miss Attitude over here, and Owain seems to be the only one who doesn't complain about her. And Gregor is far more skilled than I am, so keeping Cordelia with him will help the Shepherds more than ferrying me around when I have Zahra as a superior alternative."

"A wyvern?" Morgan asked in awe and Robin chuckled,

"Cherche thinks Zahra isn't as cute as Minerva but Zahra is a Plegian Wyvern, she's tough enough to handle the coming battle, even if she's not a combat mount, plus if I wanted an aerial view, she's far better than a pegasus that's liable to throw me off its back every five minutes." Robin said with a wink, "And aside from that, I was the one that found her a couple of years ago and I will admit that if it wasn't for Sumia's help well...I made sure to return the favour, naturally."

Morgan giggled, and Chrom sighed, "So, then who…?"

Robin hummed, "Well, I was thinking either Laurent or Gerome. They're responsible enough to stay focused on the task at hand and don't annoy me like some other people."

Morgan hummed, "A sage or a flier...sounds cool." Robin chuckled,

"I thought that'd work, plus you won't be too far from me so I can keep an eye on you. It'd be foolish of me not to after all." He sighed and rose, "Now then, we should probably look into some training since I need to get in some, and I don't know what magic you've learned."

"Robin." Chrom said and Robin turned to Chrom,

"It was an open invitation Chrom." He said crossing his arms over his chest, "Though from what I can tell Miss Attitude over here is about as magic as a wet rag, so it'll be pointless to try and teach her anything."

Cordelia froze, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see it hurt Severa when the initial shock, then pain crossed the girl's face. It was excessively cruel of him, even by all that Cordelia knew of Robin. He never sunk to that level, even with Kellam who everyone knew wasn't magically adept at all. He had to know it hurt, but he clearly didn't care and Cordelia felt herself glare at him before going to try and comfort _their_ daughter who Robin didn't seem to care about in the slightest and tore down every time she tried to bond with him. Chrom let out a painful sigh as Cordelia left the tent.

~*~

Severa was inside her tent sobbing helplessly, and Cordelia didn't know what to say or do, other than hold the poor girl as she cried. It took several minutes of silence before Cordelia murmured she was going to go and talk with Robin but not before saying, "Constellation is a good listener, if you don't want to talk to anyone."

She came upon the training grounds and saw that Morgan was standing with Robin and Lucina, the latter holding a ball of flames in her palm half smiling until she looked at Cordelia and stiffened. It must have tipped Robin off as he said, "At any rate it's entirely up to you if you wish to train in magic or not. I'm sure it won't hurt, especially since there are a few tome wielding classes you could make good use of." Robin said, and he turned to see Cordelia, an annoyed expression crossing his face briefly, "Don't you have your daughter to worry about?" He said, "Or better yet, going and talking to your actual pair up partner instead of being a nuisance?"

It made her pause for a bare glimmer of a moment but she had to figure out why Robin was being so cold to their daughter, why he appeared to hate her for no reason…

"We need to talk." She said firmly, and Morgan looked decidedly uncomfortable. She had a training lance in hand and wasn't prepared for what Robin had to say.

"No we don't." He said turning his back on her, "If you weren't so obsessed with Chrom and finding someone to replace him, we wouldn't be here." Cordelia was shocked, dropped the lance she was holding gaping as he continued, "Admit it, you don't know a gods' damn thing about me, and you never cared to know, you only want me so no one else can marry me, well sorry but I am not playing along with your lies, not now, not ever." He said sharply, and Lucina looked down, the fire fading in her hand as her discomfort cut the flow of mana that was feeding it.

Shaken Cordelia left. She felt the overwhelming urge to cry. She had never expected in a million years that was how Robin actually _felt_ about her. She had a lot of work to do to fix this situation. She knew.

That night was...difficult to say the least, as Robin didn't show up for dinner in the mess and Lucina of all people had gone to make sure the tactician ate. Cordelia was still trying to figure out how to fix the situation, with Severa and her sharing a table, both lost in their own thoughts. Severa wandering how to prove herself to her father, Cordelia trying to figure out why Robin thought she was still in love with Chrom.

It all seemed to go even further down hill from there, as Robin began rebuffing Cordelia as well as Severa, with equal ferocity. She tried to sit near him and was rebuffed numerous times, with Robin either moving away or getting up and sitting elsewhere, mostly his tent. And when he did come out it was to continue Morgan's training, spar with Lucina (whom he'd chosen to pair up with) and spent the rest of his time focused on battle tactics and strategies to the point he ignored Cordelia entirely.

There was another problem raised, one that Cordelia couldn't ignore. Robin's words _hurt_ more than she was willing to admit.

_"If you weren't so obsessed with Chrom and finding someone to replace him, we wouldn't be here."_

_"Admit it, you don't know a gods' damn thing about me, and you never cared to know, you only want me so no one else can marry me, well sorry but I am not playing along with your lies, not now, not ever."_

She lay in her bedroll close to tears. Why was love so hard? Why did Robin seem to _hate_ the idea of them and their daughter?! Cordelia rolled onto her side as sobs filled the tent.

_"You don't know a gods' damn thing about me and you never cared to know!"_

She was on kitchen duty with Lucina a couple of days after the risen attack and was making a dessert Sumia had taught her how to make in the hopes of Robin liking it when Lucina said, rather quietly, "Robin hates cream."

She froze, taken aback, "I'm sorry, what?"

Lucina sighed, "Robin doesn't like cream." She said as if Cordelia should have known that fact and Cordelia felt annoyed, how was it Lucina was able to get that out of the tactician and not her?! It was too late to change the dessert, and Cordelia was annoyed by the fact that Lucina seemed to know Robin better than she did.

~*~

Cordelia kept flicking through her copy of _How to Make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight_ for anything on how to patch things up with Robin but the book was no use. Robin remained cold and distant from her, and clearly hating her and Severa in equal measure. She had chosen a lull after the battle to go through it, only for a screeching wyvern to ruin her afternoon. The horse pulling the wagon had lashed out, breaking free and setting the wagon rolling back down.

It was in slow motion as she saw Robin pull a wind tome out, unleashing a blast as the wagon clipped the tactician sending him falling backwards down the ravine with Lucina trying to break his fall, only to be pulled by the force, " **Lucina! Robin!** " Chrom cried in desperation, Stahl and Vaike barely stopping the wagon Robin shot forwards. Cordelia would have jumped on her pegasus in the confusion, or any pegasus really to save him but it seemed that Zahra was ahead of them, the grouchy wyvern leaping from where she'd spooked the horse wings spread widely and unable to be stopped without a halter.

The wyvern was fiercely loyal to Robin and the Shepherds saw and heard the wyvern crash into the water below.

Cordelia wanted to get to her pegasus but the bedlam prevented her from mounting a rescue mission until Chrom took control over the situation. It turned out they couldn't do anything until the morning, as night closed in rapidly and Cordelia saw and heard Morgan crying inconsolably about "losing" her "parents" a second time with her face buried in her pegasus' mane.

Cordelia had frozen and did a double take on the girl, looking more closely at her but Morgan's crying was undecipherable.

An odd feeling crept into Cordelia's heart then and she spoke with Maribelle and Sumia of her worst fears.

That Robin was in love with Lucina.

That he was hiding it as much as humanly possible because he _knew_ how he'd be received if the rest of the Shepherds found out. Maribelle had scoffed then and said that Cordelia was acting childish because she couldn't sway the tactician to love her and Sumia looked down, uncomfortable at the turn of the conversation.

Cordelia had not noticed that Morgan had heard them, and the girl suddenly exploded, "Can't you take the gods' damn hint. He doesn't _want_ you! How many times does he have to tell you _no_ before you get the message?!"

The women stared at the girl in shock and Sumia looked sympathetically towards Morgan, "This is-" Cordelia began only to stop, properly _look_ at Morgan and see Robin's face looking at her. How had she _missed_ that?! "You're his daughter, aren't you?" Cordelia asked and Morgan winced, "His by another woman."

Maribelle raised an eyebrow and Sumia spoke, "Cordelia…that's enough, the poor girl's been through enough!" Sumia was oddly sharp now and Cordelia saw the hurt in her friend's eye, "Do you not know how hard it is to know that Lucina is _my_ daughter?!" Cordelia fell silent in the face of Sumia's pregnancy hormones and hurt, "Do you see me breaking up Chrom and Maribelle's relationship?! He's **happy with her, why would I do that to Chrom**?!" Sumia panted heavily and Maribelle actually looked pale herself,

"Sumia's right." Maribelle said after a pregnant pause, "Chrom and I are happy. So too is Sumia."

Morgan sighed, as if working out what she should say. "I am Robin's daughter, but I haven't told him because I didn't want him to be forced one way or the other." She said at last, "But I absolutely refuse to say who my mother is. Especially since it _will_ divide the Shepherds at their very core if they knew as much. Nor will I call Robin 'father'. He is not the same as the man who raised me." She said firmly, "And I refuse to be near Severa, since all she sees me as is someone to be punished for existing. Don't even try and force us, unlike Robin I won't tolerate it like he does. Do so at your own peril."

She turned on her heel and left, warning clear. She didn't want a relationship with her half sister.


	6. Unwated Crown

As Morgan had stormed off from the harsh truth she'd hit Cordelia with, the young woman couldn't help feeling a little guilty about how she'd essentially snapped. She wasn't supposed to reveal anything but now the Shepherds knew Robin had a second daughter and it was only a matter of time before Severa would show up and scream at her _again_ for simply existing as a child of the homewrecker who broke up Severa's perfect little family she had in her head now. Even though it was clear that Robin made his own choices and didn't want to be with Cordelia no matter how hard the Shepherds tried to force it on him.

Morgan sighed, wondering if she could do anything about the situation. She had to trust her parents, and even if they weren't going to be together she wished them both happiness. She always had. And she sure as the seven hells wouldn't try to force them together like everyone else was probably likely to do once they found out...or force her parents apart for Cordelia and Severa's egos, not because of what Robin wanted to do, or who he was truly in love with.

So when Cordelia kept trying to push Robin to be in a relationship with her it angered Morgan because he looked unhappy to be around the red haired woman. His signals were so clear, the subtle ones glaring if one cared to get to know Robin properly. Especially his more subtle discomfort signs that Morgan had known since _she was a five year old child_ that should have been crystal clear to even the most dense of the Shepherds surely. It blew Morgan's mind that they wanted her father to suffer so much more than he had any right to.

Morgan was five when her parents' relationship was discovered by the Shepherds. Her father had at the time done his best to protect her and her mother bearing the brunt of the Shepherds' rage and providing them as comfortable a home as possible, though they'd taken a small house well away from Ylisstol due to how poorly he was treated at the time and how quickly things deteriorated. Her life wasn't that of a royal princess but that of a normal girl and Morgan loved it, even though her father and mother frequently struggled to make ends meet.

Her mother had taken on wood carving and her father worked teaching the local children how to read and write. It didn't pay much but it did help them a little.

When Morgan was ten, the Plegians had sent the risen to attack the village. Her father had reacted quickly, and barely managed to save the people with just him and her mother. They were her heroes, and Morgan wished she was strong enough to help out.

It was the first time that she'd seen the Shepherds since she was five.

Morgan saw Chrom gape at her father as he shouldered a tome and felt the overwhelming urge to hide behind him. Her mother had placed an arm around Morgan's small shoulders, "Nice to know you chose to take your gods' damn time getting to this village." Her father had said, pulling a vulnery out of his coat pocket and her mother helped apply it to a gash on her father's arm. No one apologised for five years ago, nor did they help him. Morgan knew at the time they didn't approve of her father but never why.

~*~

That interaction was the first real time that Morgan came to learn the truth, that not one of the Shepherds that were present at that moment approved of her mother and father being together and acted like Morgan didn't exist as they all but cursed him for not choosing his "supposed" partner.

It took going back in time, being sent by both her parents to see where the root of the problem lay.

A stupidly stubborn woman who refused to let Robin love who he wished because "they had a daughter together so they had to be in love and have a future together" while Robin made it clear he held no feelings for the woman at all, signs that were obviously ignored until Robin was forced to be much more aggressive than he normally would be, in a natural escalation of the situation that had now blown to well over what it should have been. Cordelia should have taken the first "No" and left Robin alone.

Morgan wanted to gag, tempted to throw a spanner in the works on day one and say that she was Robin's daughter by the woman he truly loved but she didn't. She didn't want to hurt her parents and she didn't want to cause more problems for her father. So she took the screaming of Severa and the glares some of the Shepherds had given her, because she was with Robin. Because she was with her father, getting to know him as he was and not forcing a relationship with him like so many other people were doing and letting him decide how much he wanted.

It pleased Morgan greatly to share the moments with him that were untainted by him trying to push away Severa and Cordelia, his sand bear stew was as amazing as ever and Morgan had enjoyed it immensely. He seemed happy to share with her and Lucina, and for that one single moment it was like Morgan had her family back.

~*~

Robin let out a surprised hum as Mustafa stood before him, "I have a feeling chaos is about to descend." Robin spoke and there was a wry smile from the older general,

"With Validar gone, there might have been if not for one key factor," Mustafa explained, "You."

Robin blinked, startled, "Wait… wouldn't the Grimleal try to kill me because of-"

"Not all of Plegia holds the view of the Grimleal, many only give lip service to them. So few would desire to follow the Grimleal's commands given the choice."

Robin found a chair and sunk down into it. He was shaken, "Then...what happens? To Plegia? I'm no king-"

"It would be for the best if you were king, at least until a suitable candidate is found to rule over Plegia."

Robin was decidedly uncomfortable with that, "Look I know how to run an army but not a kingdom. I'm a tactician not some prince." He said, and he looked between Lucina and Morgan,

"You won't be alone, there are some advisors who will be able to help you." Mustafa explained and Robin sighed,

"I'm going to need some time, a couple of days at least." He tried not to wince. The situation was clearly delicate. The last thing he needed was a lapse in judgement. Mustafa nodded,

"As expected it is a shock after all." He spoke in what had to be a dialect Robin wasn't familiar with and the servants left the apartment. He bowed and left not long after them.

The silence was deafening.

~*~

It took a couple of days to fully overthrow the Grimleal, Robin's strategies helped more than anything else. As much as he detested it, he was crowned the new king of Plegia, a responsibility he couldn't take lightly as succession was a delicate process in of itself. The only real difference between his situation and Chrom's two years ago was the Plegian High Council weren't forcing him to take a bride, it wasn't even the topic of discussion. They were more focused on how to keep Plegia functioning and despite Robin's reservations, Lucina had been a _huge_ help. The meeting ended with at least ten times as many agendas discussed as any of the Ylissean High Council, with almost all of those agendas having been solved on the spot with seemingly minimal fuss.

In the aftermath he sat with Lucina wondering what his next move should be when a familiar face arrived, "Aversa." Robin said quietly and she looked different from when he'd fought her,

"I'm not here for revenge, if that's what you're wondering." She replied, "I came...to apologise."

Robin frowned and for a moment it was quiet, "I don't see why." He said,

"You rid us of Grima." She said, "And Validar."

He sighed, "And…? I only did what I felt was right."

"And saved a good number of people in the process." She replied, "I am in your debt."

~*~

It took a week for Robin to understand what Aversa had meant. He was quietly preparing for another Council meeting when both Aversa and Lucina arrived, they looked as if they'd had a very serious discussion and they had come to speak with him. What they had to say had Robin's face go red and his ears burn. He wasn't sure how, but he had a feeling that the High Council would approve of what Lucina and Aversa had agreed to.

Especially since it would mean twice the potential for heirs, although Robin really wanted to be with just Lucina, having Aversa as a concubine would be a "return" to a pre Grimleal tradition.

The High Council agreed, many surprised by Robin's apparent choice but accepting the need to rebuild the royal house. Of course the announcement set off a boost in morale and Robin noticed in the excitement that everyone was keen to prepare for the Plegian version of a royal wedding. They did however focus on the more important task of dealing with the fall out of Validar's actions.

The decision wasn't one to be taken lightly.

Lucina and Aversa looked to Robin as he sighed heavily. This particular issue had the High Council divided, some wanted to give reparations others simply wanted the Ylisseans and Feroxi gone and out of the country. Robin quietly enquired about the common people and that was the one thing the High Council unanimously decided was more important. Leading Robin to suggest a summit to discuss what was to be done by all of the countries as a whole. Robin hoped Chrom and Flavia would be reasonable, considering the situation, though he wasn't sure Chrom would be.


	7. Epilogue: Time's End

When Robin and Lucina finally married it was to a Plegian fanfare and celebration.

Sadly Robin was never able to mend his relationship with the non Plegian members of the Shepherds, and from what Henry told him, Cordelia was still holding out that Robin would "man up" and marry her but when word of his engagement came out, she had fallen into a deep depression and hadn't been heard saying a word since.

Henry and Sumia had left the Shepherds after Cynthia was born, as certain people had been less than accepting of their view of Robin's relationship with Lucina and now Aversa. Lucina's sister Cynthia had also been ostracised and came with them, to get away from the incredible shit show that happened when Robin had handed in his resignation.

Chrom had not taken it well. Though the prince should have expected it given Robin's treatment within the Shepherds and how hard they'd been forcing Cordelia down his throat.

Flavia had sent her congratulations through a messenger, wanting to avoid the fallout of Robin's sudden departure and he responded with thanks.

The first week of Robin's marriage saw Tharja and Gaius arrive with their future daughter, Noire. Apparently there was bedlam among the Shepherds at this point, and the fractures had opened widely.

Robin asked them to stop, he didn't want to know anything else and Gaius spoke,

"No problem Bubbles, let me know if you want to have someone keep an eye on them to avoid wars." He suggested and Robin sighed,

"I'm pretty sure Chrom won't. But on the off chance he does…"

They'd nodded and for the time being at least an uneasy peace rolled out.

Three years passed and Robin had two daughters and a newly born son from Lucina and Aversa.

Lucina was cradling their son, Mark as their daughter Morgan was her typical two and a half year old rambunctious self. Little Mia tottled along by her mother's side as Aversa led the way to the family's private courtyard. He sighed as the elder Morgan was waiting for them.

It was a shock to find out she was his daughter too, but it didn't change anything. He was glad she didn't say so immediately like Severa had, allowing Robin to choose his own path without being forced to. He enjoyed bonding with the young woman, and she was an amazing older sister to her siblings. She was nicknamed "Momo" by little Morgan and it was one of the most adorable moments Robin had the pleasure of experiencing. Since then the nickname stuck. Morgan was gracious enough to accept it.

Little Morgan squealed when she saw her big sister and cried, "Momo!" leading Morgan to turn and smile before kneeling for a hug. Robin chuckled softly. While he was saddened the Shepherds couldn't accept his free will, he gained a special family he'd not otherwise. He hoped to live out the rest of his days in happiness, but he expected ups and downs, that was life after all.


End file.
